Arenafootball2 rules

The biggest thing about familiarizing yourself with Arena League Football is getting to know the rules. Here are some of the arenafootball2 rules:

Field: The field is an artificial turf surface 85 feet wide and 50 yards long with eight-yard end zones.

Instead of goalposts, kickers have to put the ball between a nine-feet-wide hole in the netting above a crossbar that is 15 feet high.

The nets are 30 feet wide by 32 feet high. The bottom of the nets are eight feet off the ground.

Walls, or sideline barriers, are four feet high, three inches thick and made of high-density foam rubber.

Players and formations: There are 24 men on the roster (20 active, four inactive). Eight men play on offense, while eight men play on defense. Only the quarterback, kicker, one offensive specialist and two defensive specialists don't have to play both ways.

All non-specialists may substitute once during each quarter.

Four offensive players must line up on the line of scrimmage. Three defensive players must be down linemen. One linebacker may blitz on either side of the center. Alignment is two or more yards off the line of scrimmage. There is no stunting or twisting.

How to play: Like in regular football, teams get four downs for a first down. Teams advance until they either score or reach fourth down. On fourth down, the team must go for it or try a field goal attempt. Punting is not allowed.

Scoring: Six points for a touchdown. One point for a place-kick conversion after a touchdown, two points for a drop-kick conversion and two points for a successful run or pass. Three points for a place-kick field goal or four points for a drop-kick field goal. Two points for a safety.

Offensive motion: A receiver may go in forward motion before the snap.

Timing: Four 15-minute quarters with a 15-minute halftime. The clock stops for out-of-bounds plays or incomplete passes only in the last minute of each half or when the referee deems it necessary for penalties, injuries or timeouts.

Kicking: Kickoffs are from the goal line. Kickers are allowed to use a one-inch tee. The receiving team may field any kickoff or missed field goal that rebounds off the net. Any kickoff that goes out of bounds untouched will either be placed on the 20-yard line or where the ball went out of bounds -- whichever is more advantageous to the receiving team. A touchback is placed on the 5-yard line.

Passing: Passing rules are the same as NCAA football in which receivers must have one foot inbounds. A forward pass that rebounds off the end zone net is a live ball and is in play until it touches the turf.

Overtime: Overtime periods last 15 minutes. Like college football, each team gets one possession to score. If one team has a higher score after the two teams get possession, that team wins. If both teams are tied after each possession, the next team to score wins.

Penalties: There are 3-yard, 5-yard and 8-yard penalties, along with loss-of-down penalties.

Three-yard penalties consist of grasping the face mask, illegal kick, illegal cut, illegal pass, false start, delay of game, most illegal formations, too many men on the field, offsides and running into the kicker, to name a few.

Some of the 5-yard penalties are tripping, hands to the face, illegal twisting (defense), assisting the runner, illegal blitz by the linebacker, blocking below the waist on an eligible receiver, and intentional grounding.

Loss of down penalties are an illegal pass beyond the line of scrimmage, pass touched or caught by an ineligible receiver, intentional grounding, illegal bat, illegal kick, second pass or if the quarterback crosses the line of scrimmage and returns.